


Beginner's Luck

by MarchofBirds



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Fluff, M/M, No Angst, Not Actually Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-19
Updated: 2018-03-19
Packaged: 2019-04-04 13:55:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14021724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarchofBirds/pseuds/MarchofBirds
Summary: Han Solo preferred a partner with experience, confidence. Some wide-eyed virginal farmboy just wasn’t gonna cut it. No matter how pretty he happened to be.Or: Han has a competency kink.





	Beginner's Luck

**Author's Note:**

> I say "kink" but it's actually just pure unadulterated cuteness.

The kid’s skin was tanned from a life under the same two suns, tunic open wide enough to see halfway down his chest but bright eyes too guileless to suspect what kind of attention that might attract in a place like this. His inexperience showed through the expressions that flowed freely across his face- be it indignation that raised his voice to a near pubescent whine or exuberance that brought with it a wide smile, showing off white teeth that protruded just slightly past his bottom lip. The kid’s emotions clearly didn’t go through any kind of filter before being broadcasted to the rest of the galaxy. All of which made him endlessly fun to rile up, just to see what reaction he could tease out of the farmboy- but also about as far from Han’s type as a person could get.

 

Luke was beautiful of course. With eyes bluer than the cloudless sky, hair like the gold sea of sand dunes, and a smile brighter than its twin suns he looked like the prettiest parts of the dustball they’d found him on. Han wasn’t _blind_ , he just preferred a partner with a little more experience (or any) under their belt. He _had_ after all flown from one side of the galaxy to the other, and seen more of its underbelly than he usually cared to remember. Han wouldn’t exactly describe himself as especially picky- and his copilot would downright laugh at the suggestion- but he didn’t have any desire to spend precious time walking through the basics with some back-planet virgin either. His type tended to run closer to leggy brunettes who could drink him under the table. And that was only partially because those were the only types who hung around the seedy dives he usually found himself in. There was just something about competency and the confidence that came with it that was undeniably attractive.

 

And the thing about Han Solo was that he wasn’t unintelligent, he just wasn’t very good at denying himself the things that he wanted. One of the reasons he so often found himself on the wrong side of a few dozen or so laws was that the second he admitted he wanted something he had a hard time not just going for it. He _understood_ consequences existed, he just figured he’d deal with them when they came.

 

So, he became extraordinarily good at getting out of sticky situations and tried very hard to avoid wanting things that could cause him more trouble than necessary. And a wide-eyed kid with a chip on his shoulder and Stormtroopers at his back was definitely more trouble than he could afford. He was almost unbearably naïve, trusting a couple of smugglers he’d just met and a crazy old wizard with his life. And despite his claim of being ‘not such a bad pilot himself’ Han doubted the little farmhand could find the back end of a battleship. Besides all that, there was no way the kid would have any idea what he was doing if he _did_ happen to find himself warming someone else’s bed. The deflowering fantasy may have been a common one among space pirates but Han just didn’t have the patience to be a teacher. There was just nothing appealing about inexperience.

 

 

And that’s exactly what Han told himself when he made his way into the galley to find the rest of his passengers lounging around like he hadn’t just narrowly saved their asses from a swarm of imperials. Luke looked like a kid pretending to be a knight of the old republic, playing with his archaic laser sword. He parried a couple of blasts from the remote before getting zapped and letting out a little yelp. The old wizard ignored Han’s loud laughter, handing Luke an oversized flight helmet that only served to make him look more ridiculous.

 

Luke managed to deflect a few blasts blind but any interest the display might’ve sparked in Han was quickly quelled by the bratty look Luke directed at him when he chalked it up to luck. Ben gave him a smirk like he thought he knew what Han had just been thinking. He felt the heat rise up his neck and couldn’t stop himself from insulting the old man’s outlandish delusions. If anything he only seemed more smug the longer Han talked and Luke just looked crestfallen, his dumb baby face pulled into a frown. Feeling embarrassed and a little defeated, Han scoffed like he was annoyed and shuffled out of the room.

 

And ‘ _not my type_ ’ is what he repeated to himself when he saw the kid staring out at the stars streaking by them once they reached hyperspace, wide eyed and slightly slack-jawed like he’d never seen anything so breathtaking. He couldn’t help but remember his first experience beyond light speed and smile a little.

 

“You ever been in hyperspace kid?” He asked suddenly, startling Luke out of his reverie.

 

“Never even been off world to be honest,” he almost whispered like it was a secret, not taking his eyes off the blackness of space for all there wasn’t to see.

 

“Not much to look at out here I’m afraid,” Han prompted when Luke dropped back into silence.

 

“Still more than there was on Tatooine.”

 

“Guess the bar wasn’t very high,” Han teased, half hoping to get a rise out of the kid. But Luke just shrugged and huffed out a small laugh, “guess not.” He didn’t say anything else and after a while Han wandered off to leave him to his stargazing.

 

 

Even if Luke  _was_ Han’s type he wouldn’t survive long enough for it to matter anyway as reckless as he was. Which would be just fine if he didn’t seem so determined to take Han down with him. Running down a hallway in a space station the size of a moon with the ability to blow up an entire planet, chasing a dozen imperial Stormtroopers to save some loudmouthed princess he’d never met- Han wondered how exactly his life came to this. He’d never exactly been a cautious guy but this was insane even for him. And yeah he needed the money, especially since it didn’t seem like he’d be able to collect the rest of the seventeen thousand Ben owed him after Alderaan was destroyed. Still, couldn’t quite figure out how that kid talked him into _this_. Of course he’d just have to pick up a little do-gooder who couldn’t help but try to save every damsel they came across. It was getting harder and harder to make a dishonest living in this galaxy.

 

If you asked him later how they survived the whole ordeal he wouldn’t be able to tell you. But somehow the stupid kid, bossy princess, two droids, and Han all made their way off the planet-destroying base and only managed to lose the old man in the process. Han didn’t know how well Luke had known him but there wasn’t much time to mourn when they were still in sight of the _Death Star_ and had TIE fighters shooting at them. He still couldn’t attest to Luke’s piloting skills but even Han could admit, to himself anyway, that the kid wasn’t a bad gunner. He shoved down another swell of interest with a quick “don’t get cocky” but it didn’t seem to dampen Luke’s mood any.

 

So they escaped the inescapable and Leia _still_ found a way to be mad at him, which just seemed monumentally unfair in Han’s opinion. The way Luke called out after her though you’d think the whole thing had been Han’s fault. It might’ve been because he was feeling a little bitter or maybe he just wanted to try and get a reaction out of him but he couldn’t help himself from provoking the kid a little. Predictably, he didn’t get any further than “do you think a princess and a guy like me…?” before the color rose in Luke’s cheeks and he spit out a sharp “no!”

So maybe there was something satisfying about how easy he was to rile up but that didn’t make him attractive. Some naïve blushing farmboy still wasn’t anywhere close to being Han’s type.

 

 

It was almost a mantra by the time the kid came wandering into the cockpit hours later when Chewie and the princess had long since disappeared to the crew quarters. Luke collapsed in the copilot’s seat wearing one of Han’s borrowed undershirts and a pair of soft sleep pants that, even rolled up at the waist, went past his feet.

 

“Hey kid, aren’t you up past your bedtime?” Han smirked, turning away from the unchanging scenery to face him.

 

“I’m nineteen, I’m not-” his protest was cut off by a long yawn. Han’s smirk was pulled into a full-blown grin.

 

“Oh shut up,” Luke whined before he could say anything. Han put his hands up in mock-surrender and turned back to the control panel, but was unable to contain a smug snicker.

 

They were silent for a few minutes before Luke spoke again. “It’s just a little hard to sleep. The sound of the ship, and the movement- I mean I can’t exactly _feel_ it but I know I’m not back on the farm. I don’t know it’s just…different. Does that make any sense?” His voice wavered a little. Han wondered if there wasn’t more to it, what the circumstances of his leaving Tatooine had been and how much the old wizard had meant to him.

 

“To be honest with you I’ve been spacing so long I barely remember what it was like to call someplace other than the _Falcon_ home, but I can imagine.” Han found himself wishing for the first time in years that he was a little better at expressing genuine emotion when Luke didn’t respond for a long few minutes.

 

“It gets easier, then? Traveling all the time, I mean.”

 

“Yeah, it does. Hells, most of the time it’s even fun. When you’re not toting around snot-nosed kids with imps on their trails,” Han laughed, back in his element. Luke rolled his eyes but ducked away as he broke into one of those too-wide smiles and Han felt his chest tighten in a way he hadn’t in a long time.

 

For the next few hours the kid sat up listening to him tell stories about his adventures across the galaxy- only slightly embellished- until he glanced over and noticed Luke had finally nodded off in the copilot’s seat. Asleep he, somehow, looked even more innocent, a small smile playing on his face. Han sighed and figured he was practically obligated to carry him back to his bunk before he hurt his neck too much sleeping in such an uncomfortable position. He sent a silent thanks to the maker that Chewie wasn’t awake to see _that_ as he made his way back up to the cockpit to finish his shift in solitude.

 

‘ _Yeah, definitely not my type._ ’

 

 

So, fine okay the full force of Luke’s disappointed expression directed at him, eyes big and round, voice cracking more than usual, had been hard to walk away from. And sure, yeah he’d already more or less taken on the _Death Star_ because the kid asked but that was an accident they’d barely walked away from. Luke couldn’t actually expect him to knowingly fly into the jaws of death just because he fluttered those pretty blonde eyelashes at him.

 

And that’s exactly what he told himself right up until the point that he was swooping in behind him shooting down TIE fighters. When Luke’s shot hit home, blowing the station into tiny pieces, even Han couldn’t keep his admiration to himself. So, yeah Han couldn’t really claim he’d come back for a reward, and maker knew he’d never cared much for glory. He could even admit to himself that Luke hadn’t been exaggerating when he’d claimed to be a decent pilot; hells on his best day he could almost- _almost_ \- give Han a run for his money. And maybe he couldn’t quite stifle the surge of attraction he’d felt when his shot hit home and Death Star exploded. He wasn’t going to pretend, at least to himself, that his heart wasn’t pounding in his ears when he saw Luke’s X-Wing pull up just in time to save himself from being sucked into the blast radius.

 

So, okay, it was _possible_ his type came in a few different shades, even a shade or two of blonde and bashful. But that didn’t mean Luke felt the same, and it definitely didn’t mean Han was going to do anything about it. Competence in a cockpit, no matter how attractive it was, didn’t predict competence anywhere else; Luke was so naïve he probably hadn’t even considered the possibility of the two of them. And even if Luke _did_ feel the same that didn’t mean the kid would even know how to make a move. Besides all that, as soon as everyone got done thanking him, Han Solo was taking his reward, paying off his debts, and returning him and his first mate to their regularly-scheduled life of smuggling and freedom. He wasn’t about to stick around long enough for this little revelation to count for anything.

 

And this thought held him steady for the entire minute and a half it took for him to land the _Falcon_ and nearly trip over his own feet in his haste to reach Luke climbing out of his X-Wing. Then the kid had to go and do what he’d done since the second Han set eyes on him in that trashy cantina back in Mos Eisley and take all of Han’s expectations and throw them right out a garbage chute. The second Han reached him, Luke threw his arms around his neck and pulled him into the most enthusiastic kiss he’d had in a long time. In his excitement and relief to see him alive again Han didn’t hesitate to lean into it, picking the kid up by the waist and spinning him around. At the sound of Chewie’s howling and Leia’s laughter he pulled away, surprised to find himself the one turning a little red and looking away before he could recover his usual bravado. Luke just beamed and pulled the three of them into a tight hug as the crowd of cheering rebels gathered around.

 

Between the princess’ affectionate admission that he was more than his love of money and the hope shining in Luke’s wide eyes, Han reasoned that he could stand to stick around for a few more days.


End file.
